Harmony Assistant
Harmony Assistant is probably the most well-known software product developed by Myriad. It consists of a powerful score editor with several sound design and rendering features which can also be used as an arranger, a tablature generator for several instruments, a composing assistant due to its ability to automatically generate accompaniment and rhythm patterns, and many others. Harmony Assistant also has a lite version called Melody Assistant, which includes less features for a smaller price, but has the capability to use and edit files created with Harmony. Interface Harmony Assistant is designed to be as user-friendly as possible. Its interface is based on floating windows (multiple document interface), representing several types of documents, palettes and dialogs. The score editor is implemented into a document window. This "What You See Is What You Get" type of editor allows the user to manipulate nearly every aspect of the project right within the score layout itself, which can contain symbols like notes, rests, dynamics, ornaments, images, objects stored various kinds of staves, as well as sound, time, clef and key modifiers and many others. The editor has numerous settings that help the user manage the visual aspects of his or her score. Palettes are windows who contain all the tools needed for interacting with the score. These palettes can be moved, usually resized, and easily hidden and showed. One can even define a personal layout by choosing the most used and needed tools from various palettes and storing them within a custom set of palettes. Sound output Harmony Assistant's capabilities are not limited to score producing. The program has several features with which one can control the sound output. The most obvious setting in this direction is the ability to choose from a wide range of predefined instruments, as well as the ability to define custom instruments, from sets of samples. There are several sound bases available for use, ranging from small, low quality sample databases to higher and better options. Amongst these, the most proeminent sound base it the Gold Soundbase, a 1GB collection of high quality samples. Any singular playable symbol on the score can be customized in audio output with several parameters (like ornaments), and there are multiple types of modifiers and effects which may alter the sound of several notes. Furthermore, the software has several tools for raw waveform editing, and extended possibilities to record and mix sounds. It is possible to insert a waveform directly into the score, by the use of digital tracks. Built-in scripting language A powerful tool implemented in the program is its own scripting language, which can be handled through an interface incorporated into the program. This feature enables the user to extend the abilities of the program and control almost everything inside it. Every action manifested by this engine is accomplished through scripts, which are individual blocks of code importable and exportable to .mys text files. The language, called MyrScript uses the syntax of LUA, and provides the user an API called "Interface Composer" for graphical interfaces of scripts. There is a large collection of free scripts, manufactured by the developers as well as the user community, which is available online. If you designed script, feel free to add it to the archive. Most of these scripts are included by default in the program and can be accessed through the scripts menu. Import and export formats Harmony Assistant has a wide range of importable and exportable music formats, which include: Generic score formats: *mus, myr (standard loseless native file format) *bak (backup copy, native format) *mux ("stand alone", soundbase-independent native format) *mu3 (compressed, also native format, in which audio data is lossy) *midi, mid (MIDI) *kar (MIDI Karaoke) *mid (Rich Tablature MIDI) *mxl, xml (Music XML) *xmz (Packed MusicXML) *cmf (Creative Music Format) *abc *tab *sty (Band In A Box Yamaha PSR Style, import only) *mod (import only) *s3m (import only) *msf (OMeR format, import only) Score formats generated from other programs (import only): *end, rhp, mus (Encore/Rhapsody/MusicTime) *mus, etf (Finale) *gp5, gp4, gp3, gtp (GuitarPro) *nwc (NoteWorthy) *tef (Tabledit) Audio formats: *wav (Wave) *aif (AIFF) *mp3 (MPEG Layer 3) *ogg (Ogg Vorbis) *brt (Raw) *Mac Audio Resource Category:Products